2000 was totally different, Al Gore and Bush ran identical campaigns, like seriously go watch their ads, they are almost identical. Politics wasn't nearly as polarized, social media definitely makes things far more polarized. Back then the mainstream media could exist in a way that calmed down the country about all of it, now people create all their own media and would go absolutely insane.

Also Bush didn't run as a foreign policy hawk, he actually accused Clinton of being too interventionist. Bush was running as a domestic moderate Republican, supported capital gains tax cuts and oil/gas, but he was also more supportive of social programs than we see with the Republicans today (Medicare part D, education reform, EITC, ect).

Liberals were upset, but like actual liberals and progressives were a much more fringe part of American society than they are today. Keith Overman was viewed by the American public and elite the same way the same group views Tucker Carlson.